THE MOD CLUB SATURDAYS at Revival (783 College), Saturdays, free. 416-535-7888. Rating: NNNNN
Considering that the queue to get into their weekly Wednesday residency at Lava is usually down the street by 10:30 pm, it’s no surprise that Mod Club masterminds Mark Holmes and Bobbi Guy are checking into new digs.
Beginning this week, the sharply turned-out DJs and their scooter posse take over all three floors of Revival Saturdays. It’s a major move, yet the duo’s decision to keep on with their Wednesday sessions in addition to the new party suggests that maybe there’s more to the move than just ramming more bodies on the dance floor.
In addition to a second-floor Mod Club members bar, Revival’s lower level will feature exclusively northern soul, while the main floor will shake with current and classic Mod music that doesn’t fit into the strict 60s parameters of Wednesday night’s party.
“There’s a lot of stuff that we can’t play on Wednesdays,” Holmes insists. “People want to hear bands like the Jam as well as some of the Mod revival groups and the new Hammond music, and that’s not what the Lava night is all about.
“It’s all really to do with the people asking for it. Bobbi and I don’t believe that this music should be a totally underground scene. We want it to be as big as possible, and this is a massive step toward that.”
Of course, moving to Saturdays will also put the Mod Club massive up against Davy Love’s long-running, vaguely similar Blow-Up throwdowns at the El Mo.
Holmes doesn’t sound particularly concerned, though.
“I don’t really even see that night as competition,” he counters. “It’s so very different. That’s Britpop, and they didn’t really even call it Mod until our club became successful.
“We’ve worked really hard to create the concepts behind these nights, and this is the next step. It would be a blast to have bands like the Flashing Lights or Sugarman 3 come and play in front of hundreds of people who live this culture and music.
“We can make that happen, and I don’t think there’s anyone else in the city who can.”
